1. |
A Good Life
04:26
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What is the meaning of a good life?
Do I need to be respected or well liked?
Must i consummate power,
Be a great leader,
Or sequester my self and want for neither.
What is a true friendship?
Are they essential to keep me honest?
Should I learn your secrets,
And share mine too,
I’m wondering what you’d think if I told you
That I’m making it up as I go along,
Each day I do my best though it often comes out wrong.
I’m not the most confident, but I’m always gonna try
To live up to how I look in your eyes
And I’m making it up as I go along
What is the meaning of a good life?
Can I achieve nothing and skip the strife?
Avoid the rat race,
Do my own thing,
I never wanted to live like a king.
Why strive for perfection
If it isn’t really attainable?
This is the best
It’s gonna get
No sense waiting for something permanent
That I’m making it up as I go along,
Each day I do my best though it often comes out wrong.
I’m not the most confident, but I’m always gonna try
To live up to how I look in your eyes
And I’m making it up as I go along
The good life is every day I’m with you,
That I don’t forget the beauty that you are.
Trying not to take for granted
The time I’ve had so far
Does life have a purpose?
If so, what is the goal?
Could it be
That obviously
It’s not for us to know
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2. |
Bristlecone Pine
04:35
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Time will come and time will go
Time will run from you
You can try all you want to extend the end
You’re better off enjoying now just what you can
You never know what tomorrow brings
Warmth, snow, or heavy rains
Here and now is all that is guaranteed
You cannot know where your life will lead
Cause life - it comes and goes
for the dandelions and the old willows
even a bristlecone pine
must reach the end of the line
that’s time
When you were a kid time it went so slow
everything that you did felt so brand new
As a teenager you wished you’d grow up now
so you could start living your real life in some other town
but when you look back you realize
that your “real life” was every day you opened your eyes
to see the morning sun and the ones you love
don’t go wishing for tomorrow when today could be enough
Cause life - it comes and goes
for the dandelions and the old willows
even a bristlecone pine
must reach the end of the line
that’s time
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3. |
I Dreamed About You
03:50
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I used to dream about me and you
When you said you loved me that dream came true
No trial or distance could keep us apart
Not while we kept each other in our hearts
This life is a precious gift
We only get one chance at it - let’s live it up
This is the best thing I ever did
I’m so glad this is the life I live
The day our son was born I learned what true love is
When I looked at him my heart grow two sizes
There’s nothing better than spending every day
Living the life we’ve made along the way
This life is a precious gift
We only get one chance at it - let’s live it up
This is the best thing I ever did
I’m so glad this is the life we live
Sometimes I wonder what we’ll become.
Our story has only just begun...
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4. |
Unrequited
04:19
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I love you
More everyday
But you just don’t
Look at me that way
I love you
From deep within my soul
But you just don’t seem
To feel that way at all
This ache is real
I don’t know how to show you how I feel
I’d bring you flowers every day
If it’d mean you’d love me the same way
We’ve been friends
Since we were kids
But my feelings grew
And yours never did
You’re with him now
It’s eating me inside
I can’t show you
Because of it hurts my pride
My passion
Burns like a raging fire
By my scorching heat can’t
kindle your desire
Is love that burns alone
Really love at all?
I wish I weren’t
So afraid to fall.
I won’t move on
I’ll wait for the day you come along
Then you’ll bring me flowers everyday
And then you’ll feel the same way
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5. |
The Point
04:23
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It’s an empty building, mostly just façade /
You can tell it used to be something and now it feels so odd /
The parking lot is usually empty and inside seems empty too /
This place is a ghost town, with nearly nothing to do
There are so many stores with only air on their shelves /
Plants that are a little too shiny - you know they didn’t grow themselves /
The center stage is empty; benches collect dust /
The metal cages on closed shops are starting to rust /
That’s not the only mystery here, I’ve noticed a few /
Like, who buys these kayaks lined up in a queue? /
And the candy machines are full and there’s a map on the wall /
Showing the silver sneaker walking routes at this bizarre mall
I think I know so much about this town /
I’ve been here years, I’ve really been around /
But a question I can’t answer, that I ask year after year: /
Why is The Point still here?
At first there are no signs of life /
Then you see a man walking with his wife /
They don’t say a word as they come my way /
After so much time together I guess there’s not much left to say
They head toward the exit with their slow stride /
But at the doors they hang a left and stay inside /
They are walking so slowly, moving at a snail’s pace /
But they’ll be back in 40 minutes; they know life ain’t a race
I think I know so much about this town /
I’ve been here years, I’ve really been around /
But a question whose answer I’m dying to hear /
Why is the point still here?
The next person emerges, walking slowly with a cane /
Staring straight ahead as they work through the pain /
I can’t help but wonder, what’s the appeal /
Of this place where you can’t even get a meal
Can someone who’s old and wise /
Fill me in on the tale of the demise? /
Whatever it is, there’s no going back /
For old folks and me forever walking this indoor track
I’d like to say I’m better, that I’m above it all /
But lately I find myself weekly walking these empty halls /
I’ve started to learn everybody’s face and name /
Would you like to join me or do you think I’m insane?
I think I know so much about this town /
I’ve been here years, I’ve really been around /
But a question that is never gonna be clear is /
Why is the point still here?
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6. |
When You Love Somebody
04:12
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When you love somebody
Better let them know
Because to love in secret
Is a pain that will only grow
When you love somebody
You can’t hold back
Do yourself a favor
Give it all you have
You need a love transformation
It’s an exciting sensation
You don’t have to be a poet
You just have to let them know it
Go on and let your hair down
Walk up to them right now
Then go on and let ‘em know know know the truth
of that love inside of you
When we’re loved by somebody
We gotta let em in
We all deserve love
No matter where we’ve been
When we’re loved by somebody
No need to be shy
If we’re feeling it too
Let’s give this love a try
It’s hard to make the first move
Put yourself out there and you may get shot down
If you don’t take action now
You’ll spend your whole life running aground
You need a love transformation
It’s an exciting sensation
You don’t have to be a poet
You just have to let them know it
Go on and let your hair down
Walk up to them right now
Then go on and let ‘em know know know the truth
of that love inside of you
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7. |
Mountain Air
05:29
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I left my hometown and I came here
Wanted to be closer to that mountain air
A quiet place where I could hear my own thoughts
Sit down by the creek with the forget-me-nots
When I’m surrounded by the trees
There’s no expectation of who I’m supposed to be
I can listen to the songs of the birds
No need to turn my thoughts to words
I'm changing too
Since the last time that I saw you
I'm not the same
No longer play this game
I’m through
How many times do I need to tell you?
Took a walk just the other day
Got lost along the way
Came to a cleaning on the other side
Thought about what it means to hide
Standing in the open and yet unseen
By anything but the space between
Mountains, streams, and open sky
And yet you sit and wonder why
I'm changing too
Since the last time that I saw you
I'm not the same
No longer play this game
I’m through
How many times do I need to tell you?
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8. |
Philosophers
04:08
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Every man takes his own limits
As the limits of the world.
What’s right for me, is right for you
It’s only natural how this unfurls
Man is condemned to be free
And to wonder why for eternity
There are no answers to find
But what you make up in your own mind
Listen here
That’s why we don’t agree
For every person everywhere you’ll find another possibility
Life is understood backwards
But we cannot go in reverse
No chance to edit, fix the tape, or
Change the recorded verse
Everything that we know
Is limited by where we go
What I conceive, what I create
Is based on what I can imitate
Listen here
That’s why we don’t agree
For every person everywhere you’ll find another possibility
What do you call a feeling
When you’ve never invented the word?
How do you answer the question
If the premise is absurd?
Keep on pushing the rock
Up onto the mountaintop
Then let it roll back down
And start again on the next go round
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9. |
Protest!
03:19
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Protest! The things that I don’t understand
These orders aren’t part of my plans
I’m here to tell you no
I’ve got no other place to go
Profiling those that are different
You say I’m doomed if I don’t repent
Refuse the order to stay at home
Because you’re right it don’t make me wrong
I’ll stand on the street alone all night
Even if no one wants to hears my plight
No I’m not gonna go back home tonight
Protest! The wars that I think are wrong
The injustices here at home
We have right to self organize
We have the right to defend our lives
Suffocation of our air
Mother Nature in disrepair
The death of the innocent
What will you do if we won’t consent?
I’ll stand on the street alone all night
Even if no one wants to hears my plight
No I’m not gonna go back home tonight
We all have one commonality
That every time we disagree
We can get up and fight for what we believe
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10. |
Gone
04:00
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When my body turns to dust even though it’s “the end”
I know my atoms will be out there never to be seen again.
Because my form here is ephemeral, here and gone like the wind
At least I did it my way and I’d do it the same again.
I laughed too loud, I sang too hard, even when I didn’t know the words
I acted like a fool, walked out of Sunday School, couldn’t recite to you a single verse.
I questioned me, I questioned you, decided here I’d take my stand
Quietly with my nest egg, my family, and my band.
Do you think that I’m pretentious? Do you think I’m out of line?
Bringing up existential crises about reason, sense, and time…
See I’m worried that you’ll figure me out and you’ll leave me in the cold
That’s why I have to leave you guessing before I give up and grow old.
Common sense is a thing that comes easily to most
the uncommon sense has always felt to me more apropos
Lean in to the good times and move on past the bad
Lessons I wish I’d learned when I was still a lad
With this last verse I bid you farewell
It’s time for the curtain call
Even though this show is at the end
Perhaps I’ll see you again
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James Wilkinson Carlisle, Pennsylvania
I'm a singer/songwriter from Carlisle, PA. I have been writing music for a long time and I'm excited to share what I've
created with you.
I enjoy playing many different instruments and you will discover that as you listen to my work.
In addition to my own individual songwriting, I perform in a band named Cumberland Shakedown.
Check us out on youtube at tinyurl.com/chhy7j7h
Thank you!
... more
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